LYMEC: The European Commission needs to defend the spirit of Schengen

Reacting to today's statement by the Danish finance minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen that the Danish government plans to reintroduce a significant number of border controls, LYMEC President Alexander Plahr states:

"Border-free travel within the European Union is one of the great achievements of the last years. To roll it back would seriously undermine European integration and hurt everyday travellers between Denmark and its neighbours Sweden and Germany. This agreement of the Danish minority government and the right-wing Danish People's Party (DPP) to install permanent control stations along its borders, do significantly more do random checks of cars and passports and to employ high-tech license plate scanners to check every passing car may technically not violate the Schengen agreement. It however for sure violates the very spirit of that treaty!"

LYMEC Vice President Metty Lykke Nielsen of Denmark comments: "A report from the Danish National police on the Schengen agreement finds that border controls are 'neither a necessary nor a desirable instrument for fighting cross-border crime'. There therefore is no rationale in reviving a system of control stations which seems long forgotten in today's Europe. The Danish government must not fall prey to the populistic and dangerous demands of the right-wing Danish People's Party.

Instead of reinforcing border controls the government should focus on getting rid of the Danish opt-out on justice and home affairs. This would prevent Denmark of being left out from Europol, and thus would help much more to catch precisely the criminals that the Danish Peoples Party is referring to."

LYMEC President Alexander Plahr demands: "This is now the time of the European Commission and Denmark's European partners. The Commission as guardian of the Treaties and the other Member States as equal stakeholders in the Schengen accord need to clearly communicate to Venstre and the Conservatives that they must not give in to the inacceptable demands of the right-wing Danish People's Party!"

About LYMEC:

The European Liberal Youth, abbreviated as LYMEC, is a pan-European youth organisation seeking to promote liberal values throughout the EU and particularly through and as the youth organisation of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and its parliamentary group in the European Parliament (ALDE).

LYMEC - European Liberal Youth

Rue Montoyer 31/7
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium (EU)

Tel: +32 2 237 0146
Fax: +32 2 231 1907

Email: office@lymec.eu
Website: www.lymec.eu

Press contact:

Jeroen Diepemaat, LYMEC Press Officer: jeroen@lymec.eu, +31 6 12 909 348 (NL/EN)

This release was published on openPR.